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New Jaguar XE: tech, specs, price and pics

The baby Jag is back! The new 2015 Jaguar XE marks the brand's return to the compact executive car segment

The Jaguar XE, a new and hugely significant car for the British brand, has been revealed. The XE's arrival fires Jaguar back into the fray in the hugely competitive compact executive car market where the likes of the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class traditionally hold sway.

The Jaguar XE's public debut came at the 2014 Paris Motor Show in October. It's on sale now at prices startig from £26,995 with the first deliveries due in May 2015.

The public unveiling of the XE came off the back of a star-studded launch event in London which Jaguar trailed by flying the car over the city by helicopter at sunset. No expense has been spared in making sure the new XE arrived with a bang and Jaguar is expecting big things from its newcomer in terms of sales impact.

The Jaguar XE is a result of around £2bn worth of investment in a new factory on Land Rover’s home turf in Solihull, W Mids. The car's mostly aluminium bodyshell is constructed here and the plant will also assemble the XE. A new engine plant in Wolverhampton has also been built to produce the car's efficient new Ingenium engines.

The XE has created more than 3,000 new jobs in the UK and will significantly boost Jaguar sales, which, in this country at least, lag behind Land Rover three to one. So is the new car up to it?

New Jaguar XE reviews and video

Jaguar XE: price and specs

The Jaguar XE, which has been unveiled publically at the Paris Motor Show, will be priced from £26,995 for the base six-speed manual 2.0-litre petrol SE, and rise to £44,870 for the supercharged 3.0-litre S. Trim levels will run from SE, through Prestige and R-Sport to the performance S model. The 2.0-litre diesel will range from £29,775 to £35,425, depending on power output and trim.

This makes the Jaguar XE ever so slightly more expensive than its main rival, the BMW 3 Series. The 320i SE, closest to the XE’s base model petrol in terms of spec and engine, is just over £400 cheaper. That price differential rises with the diesel, expected to be the most popular model, as the equivalent 320d is £1,000 cheaper than the base 2.0 litre XE.

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The four trim levels offered accross the new XE range, with the hot ‘S’ grade only available on the fastest petrol. Official detailed specs haven’t been released yet, but we expect the base SE to be on a par with the SE-spec of the 3 Series.

Prestige and R-Sport are the mid-range trims, with the former emphasising extra luxury, and the latter adding sportier styling tweaks and firmer suspension. Expect top-spec Portfolio models to be very generously equipped.

The flagship performance ‘S’, reserved at the moment for the supercharged petrol, offers a racier interior style, and exterior revisions that will subtly hint at the performance potential.

New Jaguar XE: exclusive video

Jaguar XE: sleek design by Ian Callum

Jaguar’s design team, led by the mercurial Ian Callum, has created a sleek, sporty, yet slightly conservative looking saloon. With so much resting on this car’s success, this wasn’t a time to reinvent the sector – it’s hoped the way the car drives will do that.

Callum explained to us how Jaguar still has something of an identity crisis in some markets around the world, if not in the UK. That’s highlighted by the leaper on the bootlid now with the word Jaguar underneath – a new addition to all Jags for the 2015 model year.

“We decided to stick with the Jaguar design philosophy,” Callum said. “People have started to get used to Jaguar and what they look like. “The XE is a sports saloon with a long bonnet, great wheel to dash proportions, the cabin set backwards and a coupe profile. But we’ve still got great packaging inside.”

The bold grille is more upright than we’ve seen before, with some delicate creases that run along the shoulder line of the car to accentuate the wheelarches, and further lines that start to the back of the front wheels and fade away as they head rearwards, to give the car its sporty stance.

The window line is very Jaguar, too, while the rear end is very short, with light graphics similar to the F-Type’s and influenced by the E-Type. They’ll be seen on every new Jaguar from now on.

New aluminium architecture for the Jaguar XE

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The benefit of the all-new car was that Callum and his team were able to influence the new platform architecture and how the car sat on the chassis. And using Jaguar’s expertise in aluminium – it’s been building cars from aluminium since the 2003 XJ – the XE features plenty of the lightweight material in its platform, bodyshell and components.

The new car is 20 per cent stiffer than the bigger XF, giving engineers more freedom to create the ideal ride and handling balance using double wishbone suspension at the front, with a clever integral link rear suspension system, plus adaptive dampers.

Jaguar says the XE has XFR levels of stiffness from the front suspension for a “connected steering feel” that’s similar to Jaguar’s most sporting saloon. The steering itself is electrically powered for the first time in a Jag, better enabling engineers to fine tune the system, and with settings that can be tweaked using Jaguar Driver Control – with Dynamic, Normal, Eco and Winter modes.

Jaguar XE: new transmission technology

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Another first for Jaguar for a long time is a manual box – an all-new six-speed unit – while a revised version of the eight-speed ZF auto used elsewhere in the Jaguar range will also feature.

Until four-wheel-drive models arrive in 2016 (coinciding with the car’s debut in the important US market), the XE comes with All Surface Programme Control. This system is developed from Land Rover’s Terrain Response set-up, and controls the engine output, brakes and differential to enable the car to negotiate slippery surfaces, delivering winter tyre levels of grip from all-season rubber.

Jaguar XE Ingenium engine range

A choice of five engines are offered in the XE at first, starting with the 161bhp 2.0-litre diesel that’s part of the new, modular Ingenium engine family. Low levels of internal friction (17 per cent less than in Jaguar’s current 2.2-litre diesel) help towards a tax-friendly 99g/km CO2 figure and a claimed 75mpg.

This is likely to be the mainstay of the range, but with 380Nm of torque from just 1,750rpm, it’ll be no slouch. Jaguar has also worked hard to eliminate clatter and smooth out the natural acceleration noises in the diesels,aiming for the Jaguar engine characteristic of “mellow growl to edgy snarl”.

There’ll be a more powerful version of the same diesel, plus two petrol 2.0-litre Ingenium engines with different outputs. At the top of the range will be the XE S, with the 336bhp 3.0-litre supercharged V6 from the F-Type; in the new saloon it should give 0-60mph in just 4.9 seconds.

Running costs and safety in the Jaguar XE

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With an eye on fleets and company car users, Jag’s gone to great lengths to trim running costs. XE service intervals are set at 21,000 miles, replacement parts are easy to fit, engineers have reduced tyre wear and non-asbestos organic brake pads will reduce brake dust build-up.

The suspension even features slippingfixings that act like a fuse to limit damage if the driver hits a kerb, while standard autonomous emergency braking – vital for the full five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating – means insurance is two groups lower than it would otherwise be.

Jaguar XE interior

Auto Express was first to jump inside the car at its unveiling on the Solihull production line. Jaguar says it’s given careful consideration to the H-point (the hip positioning) in the car and the door openings for easy access, and both front and rear doors open surprisingly wide.

You sit low in the XE, though – not quite as low as in an F-Type, but it feels lower than rivals (and is lower than an XF), partly due to the cocooning cabin design.

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The door cappings sweep around to the front of the car below the windscreen, XJ style, with a simple, twin-pod, hooded instrument binnacle ahead of the driver. There are bold, analogue dials with sporty graphics, all influenced by the F-Type, while the driving position feels spot-on. The design has a real simplicity, but it lacks the luxury detailing you’ll find inside the superb new Mercedes C-Class, even though the early XE we sat in was some way from production quality.

While the upper dash looks minimalist, there are still many buttons under the touchscreen for the climate control, and around the rising, rotary gear selector to select the driving modes. The interior isn’t as stylish or exciting as the exterior.

What it does offer, though, is decent space – more akin to a C-Class than a 3 Series. A six-foot passenger can comfortably sit behind a driver of similar height. There’s plenty of space for feet under the front seats, while headroom is okay, even with the panoramic glass roof option.

Three adults across the back might find it a bit tight, and children won’t like the rising windowline. But the boot is five litres bigger than a 3 Series’, at 485 litres, there are 40:20:40 split folding rear seats plus a powered boot door option.

Jaguar XE: equipment and technology

As you’d expect, there’s plenty more safety tech, with a stereo forward-facing camera for traffic sign recognition (that checks what it sees with info from the sat-nav), lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, self-parking and adaptive cruise control. The head-up display uses lasers for a crisper image than an LED system and shows speed, safety warnings and sat-nav directions.

Connectivity is key in this sector, and the XE gets an eight-inch touchscreen, instead of rivals’ control wheels. Jaguar InControl apps for Apple or Android phones give access to Internet radio, traffic information, news and navigation, although full Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity is some way off yet.

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InControl can also be used to pre-heat or cool the car and unlock or lock the doors, plus it will alert the driver and a call centre if the car is stolen.

You can spec on-board WiFi that can connect to up to eight devices, while the standard 250W six-speaker stereo is developed by Harman Kardon. There’s also a 380W, 10-speaker premium option from British hi-fi specialist Meridian.

Tell us what you think of the new Jaguar XE in the comments section below. Will the new baby Jag have what it takes to challenge the compact executive elite?

Disqus - noscript

I hope there's something to compete with the e335d - there isn't much around that can match the performance/economy in that size range.

Submitted by SomersetLeveller on Mon, 2014-02-17 16:05.

So...

no price.

no specs - except promises of sub-100g/km CO2 and 300 km/h Vmax - all that can be done already with the known specs of the 2014 Mercedes C-Class - C180 to C63 AMG and 2015 MY BMW 3-series - plugin hybrid and F80/2 M3/M4, plus new Audi A4 in early 2015 with similar sub 100g/km emissions and expected RS4 model.

More lickspittle reporting from British press of non-happenings at their beloved Indian owned JLR.

'CallmeDave' must be getting desperate for his 2015 election year, and got together with the 'Chipping Norton dinner party set', including Clarkson, Murdoch and Freud, to engender more 'feelgood factor' by showing 'Britain bouncing back' with the in the headlines every day 'good news story' of JLR's rise and rise, except it's all BS, like the '3 series killer Baby Jag', Britain's rotten elite, and modern Britain and its people generally.

Submitted by just me on Mon, 2014-02-17 19:25.

oh go back to your flood and drown

Submitted by Dorset123 on Mon, 2014-02-17 20:11.

You sad person if you haven't got anything better do than moan and groan please go and live somewhere else and we will be shot of you.

Submitted by CallMeWilly on Mon, 2014-02-17 20:32.

No friends? It's probably your own fault.

Submitted by Gandalf on Tue, 2014-02-18 00:48.

It's called the 'Excess'? Really? Not a great name for a fat cat car is it? Still, I am looking forward to Britain's first 'proper' rival to a 3 series. I hope they get the styling spot on - it will need to be near perfect to out do the Beemer.

Submitted by RayCee on Tue, 2014-02-18 02:54.

I thought the title says more than the article revealed. The face of modern journalism? Cry wolf too often and it will stop people coming in the longer term.It will have to be a very good car to succeed, which it may prove to be. I hope it is for Jaguar's sake.

Submitted by chris_xxxx on Tue, 2014-02-18 03:21.

JLR made profits of £842m in the last quarter of 2013 which was up from £404m for the same quarter in 2012, on revenues of £5.3bn.

JLR built 425,006 vehicles in 2013, up from 357,773 in 2012.

And next year they will be manufacturing the new Jaguar XS, which will be a high volume vehicle followed by the C-X17 SUV.

This is hardly BS.

Submitted by BigChizz on Tue, 2014-02-18 08:00.

Had a bad day dear?

Submitted by Smithynotts on Tue, 2014-02-18 08:27.

Well the JLR team really put some thought into this didn't they, not!! Lets make an XF but smaller, job done. Probably saved millions on design costs though.

Submitted by shaun34 on Tue, 2014-02-18 09:24.

JLR, please, we have heard it all before, stop telling us what you are planning on doing and then coming up short, actually get on with doing it for a change. I really am waiting for a small Jaguar, but I am getting bored now and my wallet is getting twitchy, and I dont want a German repmobile.

Submitted by Morg on Tue, 2014-02-18 09:58.

All X Type petrol engines were 6 cylinder, because 6 cylinder is the executive, upmarket solution. I hope there'll be a 6 cylinder that isn't stratospherically fast, but is manually geared, on this.

If there's a 3.0 V6 petrol coupe with a manual gearbox and rear wheel drive, I might just think about owning one.

Submitted by Nuffield on Tue, 2014-02-18 10:26.

Somerset Leveller? You sound more like someone with an insistent problem that will not go away because its inside you. Its people like you that killed the one time great British automobile industry built by William Morris and Herbert Austin in the 60s and 70s.

JLR are doing an extremely great job here in Britain - that is fact - in extremly difficult and unpredictable economic global times and putting their money where their mouths are instead of just yapping like a lot here in Britain! Many others just rant on but do nothing positive and are not part of our productivity and just wait for things to get better by buying in Germany or elsewhere n the meantime etc.

Germany is certainly not heaven, neither are its manufacturers. Otherwise board members and heads of production and other key personel would not have left to join JLR. Life is not a pony farm!

Many major German manufacturers shirk their social resonsibilities and pay virtually zero taxes by devious and just legal tax avoidence means with offices and mini operations in the Caribean and Asia and similar havens.Example - corporate aircraft are owned by Cayman Island companies belonging to themselves! Look at the aircraft registrations! One major in Wolfsburg has about 390 foreign offices and companies to arrange all this!

Most major German manufacturers are already outsourcing in eastern Europe and Asia on a major scale in a massive attempt to reduce costs. As well as this low cost foreign labour exploited and used through contract work agencies to try and reduce responsibility, cost and give flexibility in production dips.

Thank you Jaguar Land Rover for all you are doing and your faith in Britain and British workers!

Submitted by Rapier on Tue, 2014-02-18 10:33.

You really have a problem! But the problem lies not with Britain or Jaguar Land Rover - its in your head!

You are a very poor person and presumably not responding to treatment.

Try immigrating to Germany - at the moment they are not particular and take nearly anything.

Submitted by sirwiggum on Tue, 2014-02-18 11:05.

"I hope they get the styling spot on - it will need to be near perfect to out do the Beemer."

In that case then, to 'out do the beemer (3 series)', all they'd need to do is photocopy the X type and put slightly different lights on?

Please don't do a beemer, Jag, come up with a gorgeous, distinctive design that isn't boring or derivative like the German brands.

Submitted by Generic2 on Thu, 2014-02-20 11:12.

Should either way be one of the most anticipated launches in 2015! I remember the euphoria that surrounded the X-Types release (only to have it quashed by compromised design and poor quality!) but I truely believe an architecture independent Jaguar will get it right this time. I have no concerns for quality as Jaguar Land Rover has surpassed itself in recent consumer sentiment awards. It's also good to see consideration given to low CO2 engines as in some markets tax is based on carbon dioxide output. My only grip is that Jaguar Land Rover still hasn't given a launch date/comittment to the X-17 SUV or the Defender replacement....my anticipation for both is killing me!!

Submitted by Jaguarfan on Thu, 2014-02-20 22:26.

So much skepticism about this car and Jaguar.. The car will be getting a state of the art alloy chassis and new engines from it's brand new engine plant... it's not like the xtype with it's hand me down mondeo chassis and bits borrowed from the ford range.. jag can tune the new chassis to deliver the ride and handling worthy of a Jaguar and cut the weight, only a fool doubts Jaguars ability to do that Ok JLR is a small company in comparison to the German brands but the profits it is now generating are huge and give it real ability to not just compete but lead, sales up just 20% but the one the matters profit up a huge 50% that's down to quality of sales not quantity.. For a small company like JLR to invest 1.5 billion in a chassis is unbelievable considering half a billion gets you a huge state of the art brand new engine plant...

The fact JLR has pumped so much money and effort into the chassis tells me all i need to know about this cats agility and ride quality... with a new small but powerful turbo charged hot fire engine giving it a great power to weight ratio and economy figures in the 60mpg's .... if only Jag can get it's colabiration with intel up and running in time it will really be a complete packaged car

Submitted by chris_xxxx on Sat, 2014-03-01 00:37.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Submitted by Kirk Mosslock on Sat, 2014-03-01 08:30.

What about a V6??? like they had on the type.

Submitted by shaun34 on Sat, 2014-03-01 09:01.

I really hope JLR succeed with this, I want to replace my Volvo S80, and will not buy into the "German superiority" because they are not, however with a new range of wonderful engines already out, a great new design direction and replacements for aging Volvos, also using a brand new platform just around the corner, I think Jaguar need to be looking at Volvo as competition not just the Germans. I also dont always believe the JLR hype, they harp on about extensive use of lightweight materials, but end up being heavier than their competition through use of heavyluminium. JLR also need a decent manual gearbox, they cant just rely on automatics.

Submitted by Kamelo on Sat, 2014-03-01 16:46.

There will be.

Submitted by Gandalf on Sat, 2014-03-01 20:13.

...which is effectively what I said. To out do BMW, the car needs to be a strong performer in all areas from styling, engines, quality, and refinement, to efficiency, comfort, technology, and desirability. I've been looking forward to this very car for nigh on 10 years. The X type was a real let down - this one will hopefully be 500% better in every department.

Submitted by Morg on Sun, 2014-03-02 09:32.

"“most ... refined premium sports saloon ever..."Great!"range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines"Oh dear. It's like trimming the interior with PVC and marketing it as premium.

Submitted by Gandalf on Sun, 2014-03-02 13:52.

True - Rome took a while. But cars are not cities. And the X-Type ceased production in 2009! If they has been wise, senior management would have planned a replacement years before the X-Type ran out. So the replacement is now around 7 years late!

That is incompetent management - 7 years lost profit and market place positioning to your rivals is incompetent. The new Jag really needs to be superb to claw back those lost 7 years. I agree with Shaun - I would love the new Jag to out do BMW and I would like to swap the last 7 years of BMW ownership to a fab British alternative. Many of us are holding our collective breaths ...

Submitted by radioman on Sun, 2014-03-02 15:09.

you talk of the Mondeo hand me down chassis, there was nothing wrong with the Mondeo chassis it was an excellent starting point, where jag went wrong was to use far to many interior parts from the Ford parts bin, the X-type was a good car but suffered from badge snobbery, admittedly it was never going to worry BMW or Audi et al but as a base point it served well as a tutorial of what stick in the mud Jaguar customers want.I can't believe that in this day and age people are slagging off 4 cylinder engines which nowadays run just as smoothly and far more economically than V8's or V6's (although being honest when I have owned v6's in the past I did enjoy them but they don't fit in to today's environmentally conscious world)

Submitted by chris_xxxx on Sun, 2014-03-02 15:34.

When Tata bought JLR, they were considering closing down one of the factories. They introduced new models which were already in the pipeline and funded.

That's not incompetence. That's called logic and commonsense.

Submitted by Gandalf on Sun, 2014-03-02 16:40.

Open your eyes - 7 years waiting for a replacement IS incompetent planning on the part of the previous management, which ever way you look at it or try to spin it. Can you imagine BMW not replacing its 3 series for 7 years? Neither can I.

But JLR are now in better hands and they need to claw back that lost opportunity by stunning the motoring world with a genuine leading performer. This is what a lot of us who are Brits but run 3 series / A4's / Cl classes want.

Submitted by chris_xxxx on Sun, 2014-03-02 17:02.

BMW is a very successful company with billions available for development. JLR was not in that position when Tata bought the company. You need to look at the state of the company a few years ago, when they were asking for loans from the Labour government.

Having come from a manufacturing/engineering background, I understand what they were going through.

Submitted by Lyonheart on Sun, 2014-03-02 22:45.

It will be a refined premium sports saloon and designed and manufactured in Britain!

This in itself marks it as something better and different to the run of the mill Euromobiles assembled out of OEM Bitsa Bins from eastern Europe and further.

No one is trimming anything concerned with it with PVC - it will be a premium and very desirable automobile!

Submitted by Garbi on Sun, 2014-03-02 22:51.

BMWs are not perfect- thats why they have a varying length warranties in certain countries. And a limited dealer backed warranty in certain others to hold down repair claims in other countries to hold factory costs down.

Submitted by Morg on Mon, 2014-03-03 08:41.

Congratulations, you've completely missed the point.

Submitted by pablovski123 on Tue, 2014-03-04 13:24.

yes of course, by following the same principle that has seen BMW, Audi and Mercedes sell so many cars for so much profit. Jaguar/Land Rover know exactly what they're doing which is why the XF/Evoque and new RangRover are selling so well and most importantly generating massive profits for re-investment - which is exactly what JLR are doing, re-investing huge capital into their UK plants and workforce.

The XF and XJ are very different cars that share a slightly familiar face. I struggle to tell the difference between a 3 & 5 Series and when they are debadged, it's virtually impossible. So too the A3/4/5/6/7/8 which are like Russian Dolls.

Submitted by Gandalf on Wed, 2014-03-12 16:14.

They all do it - Audi, Ford, Peugeot, BMW, etc.

Submitted by Gandalf on Wed, 2014-03-12 16:19.

Hang on a minute - Auto Express were telling us this was definitely going to be called the Jaguar 'XS' only 25 days ago!!!! I said something called a Jaguar 'Excess' wasn't a clever call. But it turns out that Auto Express got it wrong - and they even re-edited this article to hide their error!

Never mind, the name XE is better. Thank goodness Jaguar don't listen to journalists.

Submitted by Jon Mower on Wed, 2014-03-12 18:47.

you dont know much do you ?

The reason the X-Type was stopped when it was, is, and listen, you will learn something here, FORD failed to invest in the car from 2001 until 2008, there were no significant updates, or changes.

When TATA took over, it was seen as an old model that would have needed a vast sum to update and ultimately change the chassis set up, which was Ford IP, it was not viable, this is ALL down to FORD, not TATA or Jaguar.

With vast sums already being spent by Ford on the S-Type replacement (XF) and XJ, and TATA not wanting to change anything of major importance, it was deemed necessary to cancel XT, and carry on investment in XF and XJ, followed by XK, as well as the various investments in Land Rover.

TATA has committed BILLIONS of pounds to JLR since and this has meant new plants in Wolverhampton, Brazil, India, China and Saudi Arabia, it has also meant that Jaguar can free itself from paying Ford an IP fee on each and every car sold that has Ford IP in, once teh next XF has a new Chassis set up and the Freelander 2 is replaced, they will be fully free.

The XE and its three derivatives will give volume to Jaguar, and a better place to gain better discounts on mass ordering of components, it means that cars like teh F-Type, Evoque and new Defender can be developed into a number of niche products, and it means that many thousands of UK residents have good jobs in a great company, ALL because of one man, Ratan Tata and his aim of giving JLR free reign to do what it wants, and it has paid him back handsomely.

So, for all the naysayers and trolls, get your facts right, stop telling lies, and making up things, you dont know what your talking about, so go away and troll the Mattel Barbie forums (are there such things ?) because thats where you are better suited

right, 1) Price - you dont know, the dealers are not aware, and Jaguar has not revealed ANY details on price, so you FAIL there.

2) Specs - Again you have no idea, Jaguar are still at the final stages of detailing each model range, there is no info available to be gained with regards to Specification - another FAIL

3) Pictures, yes they are nice, but the same as every other magazine has, and as there was only 5 released, and only one of the finalised car, not really a draw is it ?

4) release date, well I can get one up on you I know the release date, mid June 2015, thats the date first customers will take delivery (I know i have placed my deposit already)

So when you so these reports on spec, dates, etc etc, at least get some facts first, dont place a headline that you cant follow up on, it is very sloppy journalism, and makes AE look even more unreadable.

Submitted by Gandalf on Sat, 2014-03-15 12:35.

What an arrogant clown you are. You sound exactly like the Angry Little Troll you condemn. You are patently unable to enter into an adult debate about 'cars' without resorting to asinine and childish comments and insults. It is clearly pointless even beginning a debate with you. You have serious arrogance issues. I am a keen supporter of British car manufacturers having worked for one of them in the past but ... no .. there is no point continuing this ... you'll never understand a proper adult conversation anyway.

Submitted by Jon Mower on Sat, 2014-03-15 13:30.

What is arrogant about posting the truth, if you fail to understand my points above against your inaccuracies, well then your the one at fault.

I have no problems with the post I put , yet you feel it necessary to abuse, and make wild and rude comments, so I am not the troll, YOU plainly are, as you have done EXACTLY what a troll does, and thats abuse and cause issues.

Now you can live with that, and this will be my last post on this subject, because as far as I am concerned, you are the one with the problem, and I will leave you to your devices to consider how rude and abusive you really are...

have a very good day.

Submitted by Jon Mower on Sat, 2014-03-15 13:35.

not to mention the dire BMW reliability issues that effect most models, a quick google will show you loads of engine, electrical and wheel issues.

One of the latest, cars catching fire in the steering column even when the car is NOT being used.

Submitted by Jon Mower on Sat, 2014-03-15 13:37.

OK, so why is acceptable for the German brands to do that and not Jaguar.

I await your reply with interest.

Submitted by Smithynotts on Mon, 2014-03-17 07:01.

Who said it's ok for the German brands to do it? Not me.I understand why they do it, of course, but the fact is it's lazy and I'm sure there's plenty of designers in these companies who could come up with something a bit different but still to brand.I'm disappointed with JLR because I think this is the first time they've succumbed to it as far as I'm aware.

Submitted by Gandalf on Fri, 2014-03-21 12:58.

So ignorant you don't even read your own posts. I said "JLR are now in better hands". You ignored that fact and started abuse with childish comments like "you will learn something here". Who is the troll? It is clearly not worth having any reasoned debate with you as you are an angry little man. I've seen your profile and other posts. Take a chill pill.

Submitted by Jon Mower on Fri, 2014-03-21 13:26.

your the one that needs to take a chill pill, cant you let it go, just take a deep breath and breathe, as for Angry------------ YOU ARE JUST SO FUNNY

I too am looking forward to seeing the XE in the flesh and hope it doesn't look too much like the XF and more like a Jag.If it's going to succeed it will need 4 wheel drive at all levels from day one linked to an auto box and diesel power plants (not offering 4 wheel drive in the diesel X type was it's undoing).JLR also need to ditch the cheap top hung throttle pedal for a proper floor mounted job and sort their satnavs out for something that works properly as per BMW's excellent idrive.Fixed priced servicing is also crucial in this segment (anything more than £400 for 60k miles will kill it stone dead).JLR please task note of the above if you want to tempt us away from the German brands...

Submitted by madmantras on Tue, 2014-06-03 14:42.

Oh dear…. dated styling with huge Vauxhall-like chrome slab on the rear,dated chrome grill surround, boring rear "bumper" treatment (this shape has been on other cars for years!) Dull rear light cluster . Are they trying to be a luxury car or the new "blingmobile"???

Submitted by Dave* on Sat, 2014-07-05 18:14.

@ Shaun34Patience is a virtue. Wait and you will be rewarded.

Submitted by Dave* on Sat, 2014-07-05 18:22.

@ GandalfDon't forget that Ford were considering selling Jaguar some years ago. Such uncertainty naturally leads to a degree of inertia.Also, money for investment was in short supply. Jag invested heavily in its first alluminium platform for the previous model XJ, a move which is beginning to bear fruit. The fact that that previous model did not sell as well as hoped was I read down to demand in the US for a traditional, generic design. The Yanks then didn't buy it in sufficient numbers.It takes years to plan and finance and build a car. I think that 7 year gap is down, for the most part at least, to the reasons I give.And as someone else said, Tata (who deserve thanks and praise) have invested massively, brought in new management and been relatively hands-off in allowing the designers and engineers at Jag to do what they do best.I share people's frustration in the delay but I think we will see things start to move a little more rapidly in future. Let's face it, Jaguar is a relative minnow in comparison to some of its giant competitors. But it is still Jaguar. A bit different from the rest. My main hope os that those who can afford it will, when new models become available, put their money where their mouths are and do what the German do in vast numbers - that is to say, support their own brands. So if you can, buy a Jag next time folks!

Submitted by Dave* on Sat, 2014-07-05 18:29.

@ Jon Mower

Well said Jon, you seem to know what you're talking about. The only point I would add is that Ford did invest in Jaguar (from what I read) but obviously not to such an extent (given its wide portfolio of brands and its own financial problems) such that Jaguar could really fly. I agree, Ratan Tata has (a) got a bargain for a 'cool billion' and invested massively. The fruits of all that will start to show soon enough.

Submitted by Dave* on Sat, 2014-07-05 18:31.

@ chris_xxxxRightly said.

Submitted by Dave* on Sat, 2014-07-05 18:34.

@ KirkThe article states the XE will get the V6 from the F-Type in additon to the new 'Hotfire' 2.0 litre petrol and diesel units.

Have a look at Jags from the 50s and 60s and tell me there were no striking similarities between models.I empathise with what you are saying, but while it has got boring to the Nth degree with some manufacturers it's not actually something new.

I'd say Jag has been less derivative than most. Bottom line is though, they need to sell cars in decent numbers. If their research suggests a recognisable family line is required (why wouldn't it be?) then it makes sense, as does the fact that at some level costs must be kept in check. For all that though, Tata have invested massively in JLR and I think the results are beginning to show. More to come for sure.

Submitted by Dave* on Sat, 2014-07-05 20:08.

I spoke to a chap some years ago who had a Merc C-Class which he'd had to put in for a service.

He was given a Mondeo as a courtesy car and told me he thought it was every bit as good to drive as the Merc.Not sure myself then why the X-Type should have been so slated (though I never liked the 'squeezed' headlights) but I guess as you say Jag probably had to rely too heavily on the Ford parts bin, and perhaps there were reliability issues.

That said, X-Type owners still seem to like their cars and give it good scores in driver surveys, as indeed is the case with the Rover 75.